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Buy Now, Buy Often, but Make a Good Deal

ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 9 - The glass doors to the Anaheim Marriott opened into a spacious lobby that was calm early on Thursday afternoon. All but one of the plush chairs near the entrance was empty, and two trays of gingerbread cookies shaped like baseball players had not yet been devoured.

But that relaxed scene was poised to change as Major League Baseball's winter meetings crept toward Friday's official start. With executives from 30 teams searching for ways to improve their clubs and with more than 200 players available, the off-season activity will surely intensify.

Put two general managers alone in an elevator and they will probably only travel about two floors before they start dissecting each other's roster. Put 30 general managers, other team executives, agents and reporters in the same hotel, and a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling baseball environment is created.

"I think a lot of stuff is going to happen here," said Lee Mazzilli, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles. "I think you'll see a lot."

About 15 minutes after he spoke, the Los Angeles Dodgers alerted reporters that they would have a major announcement. Had the Dodgers signed the free agent Adrian Beltre? Had they somehow made a trade for Randy Johnson? Actually, the news was slightly less than major as the Dodgers signed Jeff Kent to a two-year, $17 million contract.

Kent, who grew up in Southern California, wept as he described surprising his parents with the news that he was a Dodger. General Manager Paul DePodesta lauded Kent for his grittiness and defensive versatility. Kent, who won the National League's Most Valuable Player award in 2000 and played for the Houston Astros the last two years, called himself a great second baseman -- but he does not know what position he will play in 2005.

That is because the Dodgers remain hopeful of signing Beltre, the third baseman who hit 48 homers for them in 2004. DePodesta said that Kent's signing will not preclude the Dodgers from signing Beltre, but he added that the team wanted protection in case Beltre went elsewhere. Beltre, who is in Scott Boras's stable of high-profile clients, will probably not sign any time soon.

"I'm comfortable enough to wait this out," said Kent, 36, who can also play first or third base. "I don't have a problem with that at all."

So the meetings that are expected to energize the off-season included a significant signing before some team representatives had even checked into their rooms. Earlier in the day, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed third baseman Troy Glaus to a four-year, $45 million contract.

Glaus will replace Richie Sexson, a free-agent first baseman whom the Diamondbacks acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for six players last year. After giving up so much and getting so little from Sexson in what turned out to be an awful trade, one American League official wondered about the wisdom of signing Glaus to such a hefty deal. Arizona, a franchise with major financial issues, paid a lot for a player whose shoulder injuries have limited him to 149 games in the last two seasons. Glaus had shoulder surgery in 2004.

"He's a cornerstone player," said Arizona General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. at a news conference in Phoenix. "What he brings is one of the issues we felt we needed to address. Now we've done that and I'm confident in saying there will be more to come."

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After signing Glaus, who has 182 career home runs and two 40-homer seasons, it will be interesting to see what the Diamondbacks do with Randy Johnson, the five-time Cy Young Award winner. The Yankees publicly expressed their disdain recently for what Arizona is demanding in exchange for Johnson and have said they are no longer trying to acquire him.

Although General Manager Brian Cashman is focused on improving the Yankees' pitching, it is unclear if he will make another attempt to obtain Johnson, a 41-year-old left-hander. The Yankees, who have not announced their three-year, $21 million contract with Jaret Wright, want to sign Eric Milton to a similar deal and are also pursuing Carl Pavano. But if Arizona reduces its demands for Johnson before the Yankees fill their rotation, they could jump back into discussions.

"We would love it if he was our opening-day starter," Ken Kendrick, the Diamondbacks' managing general partner, said of Johnson. "Whether that happens remains to be seen."

So far the Mets have generated more splashy headlines than quality additions in an uneven off-season. Other than re-signing Kris Benson, which they basically had to do because they gave up prospects to acquire him from Pittsburgh last season, the Mets have not added an impact player. The Felix Heredia-for-Mike Stanton deal was simply one unreliable reliever switching boroughs with another.

General Manager Omar Minaya, who has tried to sign Pedro Martínez and has investigated acquiring Sammy Sosa, hopes to accomplish something more tangible here. The Mets are interested in Sexson, who was limited to 23 games in 2004 because of shoulder trouble, and they will meet here with Sexson and Casey Close, his agent. Baseball officials believe Martínez will re-sign with the Boston Red Sox.

Boras will continue to have significant influence in how the off-season unfolds because he represents Carlos Beltran and Beltre, the two most desirable free agents. The Yankees do not expect Beltran to sign before next month. Boras also represents Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, J.D. Drew, Magglio Ordóñez and Kevin Millwood.

Jermaine Dye joined Kent and Glaus in finding a new baseball address on Thursday when he signed two-year, $10.15 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. The San Diego Padres signed Eric Young to a one-year, $1 million contract and the Atlanta Braves re-signed the ageless Julio Franco, 46, to a one-year, $1 million deal.

As the skies here darkened, the lobby at the Marriott began to get more crowded, the seats around the entrance started to fill up and the gingerbread cookies were disappearing. Dozens of baseball conversations filled the lobby, hallways and suites, conversations that were bound to get deeper.

Disneyland is several blocks from the Marriott, and a meal at Spago is 40 minutes away in Los Angeles. But for the people working these meetings, the destinations were meaningless. From now until Monday, this hotel was going to be more of a home to baseball than Cooperstown.